§ 16-7-44 - School housing project costs. - Rhode Island Statutes

SECTION 16-7-44

   § 16-7-44  School housing project costs.– School housing project costs, the date of completion of school housingprojects, and the applicable amount of school housing project cost commitmentsshall be in accordance with the regulations of the commissioner of elementaryand secondary education and the provisions of §§ 16-7-35 –16-7-47; provided, however, that school housing project costs shall include thepurchase of sites, buildings, and equipment, the construction of buildings, andadditions or renovations of existing buildings and/or facilities. Schoolhousing project costs shall include the cost of interest payment on any bondissued after July 1, 1988, provided that such bond is approved by the voters onor before June 30, 2003 or issued by a municipal public building authority orby the appropriate approving authority on or before June 30, 2003. Except asprovided in subsection 16-7-41(d), those projects approved after June 30, 2003,interest payments may only be included in project costs provided that the bondsfor these projects are issued through the Rhode Island Health, Education andBuilding Corporation. School housing project costs shall exclude: (1) any bondissuance costs incurred by the municipality or regional school district; (2)demolition costs for buildings, facilities, or sites deemed surplus by theschool committee; and (3) restrictions pursuant to § 16-7-44.1 below. Abuilding, facility, or site is declared surplus by a school committee when thecommittee no longer has such building, facility, or site under its direct careand control and transfers control to the municipality, § 16-2-15. Theboard of regents for elementary and secondary education will promulgate rulesand regulations for the administration of this section. These rules andregulations may provide for the use of lease revenue bonds, capital leases, orcapital reserve funding, to finance school housing provided that the term ofany bond, or capital lease shall not be longer than the useful life of theproject and these instruments are subject to the public review and voterapproval otherwise required by law for the issuance of bonds or capital leases.Cities or towns issuing bonds, or leases issued by municipal public buildingsauthority for the benefit of a local community pursuant to chapter 50 of title45 shall not require voter approval. Effective January 1, 2008, and except forinterim finance mechanisms, refunding bonds, and bonds issued by the RhodeIsland Health and Educational Building Corporation to finance school housingprojects for towns, cities, or regional school districts borrowing for whichhas previously been authorized by an enabling act of the general assembly, allbonds, notes and other forms of indebtedness issued in support of schoolhousing projects shall require passage of an enabling act by the generalassembly.